Matt Smith and Dominic Monaghan join Star Wars Episode 9

Within four days of each other, two casting additions were announced – Matt Smith and Dominic Monaghan – in undisclosed roles in Star Wars Episode 9.

Monaghan, who worked with director J.J. Abrams on the ABC series Lost, was announced by Deadline on Friday to have joined the third film in this saga. Famously known for playing one of the four hobbits, Merry, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Monaghan is excited to join this mega-franchise. He told Deadline, ““The galaxy far far away has had almost as much influence as the one I live in, so I am delighted to be involved.”

Today, Matt Smith was the latest addition to the cast, via Variety. Smith is best known for his role as The Doctor in BBC’s Doctor Who and playing Prince Phillip in Netflix’s The Crown, in which he was nominated for an Emmy.

Star Wars Episode 9’s cast includes Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Kelly Marie Tran, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, newcomers Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, and Naomi Ackie. Billy Dee Williams returns to reprise his role as Lando Calrissian. Carrie Fisher will be featured in the film as General Leia Organa, using previously unreleased footage shot from the previous Star Wars films – The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Fisher passed away in December 2016.

Star Wars Episode 9 has not announced the title of the film and is expected to be released December 20th of next year.